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In this Nov. 8, 2015, photo, shot clocks are seen over baskets during a women's college basketball exhibition in Storrs, Conn.

Jessica Hill, Associated Press

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Weber's Ryker Chatelain (34) attempts a layup while guarded by Fremont's David Calvert during a high school boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

PATRICK CARR, Standard-Examiner

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High school basketball players, coaches and fans across the country have likely been to a game where one team stalled — dribbling, passing or holding the ball for minutes at a time with no intention other than to run out the clock.

Many have seen the practice as frustrating, or flying in the face of what the game of basketball is about. Often, fans start booing or hurling pointed comments at teams that stall.

One recent state championship basketball semifinal in Utah featured one team stalling for 11 minutes of the first half.

But the clock may soon hit zero for stall-ball in the state.

The UHSAA’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees will decide in meetings later this month whether or not to add the use of a shot clock to Utah high school basketball.

The committee makes a recommendation to the board, which would then have final say on adding the use of a shot clock.

For the past few months, the UHSAA and a shot clock steering committee have looked at the issue from many sides. As of now, the only detail that’s been ironed out is that the executive committee and board of trustees will either implement a 35-second shot clock, or won’t.

If the shot clock is approved, there are still questions about when it would be implemented, whether it would be used for all levels of basketball or varsity only, and whether it would be used in all or some of Utah’s six classifications.

If it’s not approved, then obviously nothing changes. There’s no indication whether the committee and board are leaning one way or the other.

But this school year, the UHSAA sent a survey to member schools and got responses from 90 of them (each school had one vote, instead of each principal/athletic director/coach getting an individual vote). Of the schools who responded, 77% want to add the shot clock.

Vote breakdowns per classification weren’t available; however, there was strong support for adding the shot clock among the bigger classifications, UHSAA assistant director Jon Oglesby said.

The support mainly comes from giving defenses another reward to work towards in games (a shot clock violation), removing the stalling tactic and changing the final minutes of close games where teams can hold onto the ball, and therefore the lead, without having to shoot.

“Coaches brought up how it’s a format that’s just more comfortable for fans because, I mean, sports we watch on television — basketball in the college and professional levels has a shot clock, so fans are more accustomed to that style of basketball,” Oglesby said.

Many schools not in favor cite cost as the No. 1 reason why they’re against the shot clock. A new shot clock setup runs anywhere between $3,500-6,000, depending on if one can get them at a bulk price. That doesn’t include the costs of installation, which could vary in each gymnasium. It also doesn’t include finding and paying someone to operate the shot clock on game nights.

Then consider that many schools have two gymnasiums, and a school’s looking at something like $7,000-12,000 for shot clocks — again, not counting installation or operational costs.

Large school districts are better equipped to spend five or six figures on shot clocks. Ogden, Weber and Davis school districts indicated they’ll cover the costs for shot clocks in their respective schools.

Smaller districts might not be as well-equipped to take on that cost. Curiously, Oglesby said some smaller schools voted for the shot clock and didn’t even cite cost, where some bigger schools voted against the shot clock and did cite cost.

The Standard-Examiner has unscientifically surveyed area coaches and athletic directors twice in recent years about the shot clock. The sample sizes were much smaller compared to the UHSAA’s survey, but the overall sentiment was similar in that most people surveyed wanted the shot clock.

Below are some comments sent in responses to the survey. Some coaches didn’t respond to the question about the shot clock. Other coaches who did respond, including all the coaches who oppose the shot clock, requested their responses not be published.

— “The game was intended to see who can score, not who can keep it away from the other team,” read part of what Fremont girls basketball coach Lisa Dalebout wrote.

— “End of game management is lackluster these days. Too much holding,” wrote Ogden boys basketball coach Brock Randall.

— “Absolutely. We prepare our students to be college and career ready. Why are we not doing the same in basketball,” wrote Roy High girls basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff.

— “No one wants to see games in the 30’s and low 40’s because teams want to hold the ball for 60-plus seconds a (possession),” reads part of what Layton boys basketball coach Kelby Miller wrote.

— Joel Burton, the girls basketball coach at Bountiful, brought up that many high school basketball players are already playing with the shot clock with comp or club basketball.

The stalling tactic is sometimes used, and has been used by a handful of coaches in northern Utah over the years, but overall it is infrequent throughout the state.

The number of potential shot-clock violations in a game may also not be that high, either, since many teams get a shot off within 35-40 seconds as it is. A shot clock may also force bad shots at the buzzer.

Adding a shot clock in Utah has always been a back-burner topic that moved to the front burner in the spring.

Previously, states that used a shot clock were in violation of National Federation of State High School Association rules, and therefore forfeited a spot on the NFHS basketball rules committee, among other things, by not being 100% compliant with the NFHS.

In May, the NFHS officially announced that states could add the shot clock and not be in violation of its rules. That opened the door for states to discuss the issue, which Utah started doing in August, Oglesby said.

Nine states currently use the shot clock, according to CBS. Georgia and Iowa are adding it in 2022-23 (Georgia voted to add it in 2020) and Minnesota is adding the shot clock in 2023-24. The coming months could see more state high school sports associations vote to add the use of the shot clock.

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